He stared at it. Was she messing with him?
“You know, just in case.”
Aiden tossed it back. “If there’s water, it’ll need to be boiled.” Underground wells were usually cleaner than any other source, but with Casey’s health in question, Aiden didn’t want to take any chance. He went to the pack, and pulled out the cooking pot.
“I’ll get a fire going,” Arik offered.
About two feet down, Aiden struck water—a puddle seeping up through the mud. He’d have crowed, but it wasn’t a big enough find. They’d be lucky to get a few sips each. Wouldn’t hold them for very long. He scooped out what he could, and dug deeper. Hopefully, by the time they’d boiled the first batch, a little more water would have seeped up.
Once they’d gathered around the fire, the witch pulled out her little box of potions.
“Is it time for Casey’s tea?”
She shook her head. “No, I just…figured I have these. Might as well use them, right? Muddy water with a little chamomile has to be better than muddy water alone.”
“As long as you don’t cast any spells over it.”
“Aiden, look! Look how high I am!”
Arik surged to his feet. “Casey, come down from there!”
Casey giggled, and climbed higher. “Look, Aiden!”
“Casey!”
“Let her be,” Aiden said.
“She’s going to fall,” Arik snapped.
Aiden nodded. “And then she’ll learn.”
Casey was halfway up the tree, using the branches like a ladder. She had no idea how difficult it’d be coming back down. But if Aiden knew one thing, it was that no matter how well the concept was explained to them, people learned best by trying. Casey would, too.
“What is wrong with you?” Arik demanded.
Aiden ignored him. “What do you see from up there, kid?”
“I’m not high enough!”
“You’re plenty high, just need to look out farther.”
“I…I don’t like this. I wanna come down now.”
Arik was on the first branch before she’d finished talking. “Hold on, Casey. I’m coming.”
Aiden’s mouth twitched. “Just come down the way you went up.”
“No, don’t listen to him! I’m coming to get you. Just stay there.”
“Case, climb.”
Desiree shook her head. “She’s human. If she falls, she won’t heal in minutes like you. You can’t expect her to—”
“To what? Rely on herself? Know her limits? She got herself up there, she can get herself back down.”
“Aiden, help!” Casey cried.
“She’s just a little kid!”
“She’s not that little,” Aiden countered. But Desiree wouldn’t back down, and neither she nor Arik would let him hear the end of it. So Aiden got up and went to Casey’s tree, where Arik sat, stuck halfway up with no idea how to move from there. Pathetic.
“Can you come get me?” Casey asked.
“Sorry, kid. Too many people in that tree already. Get down from there, man,” he told Arik. “You’re just embarrassing yourself.”
“Please!” Casey held onto the trunk like a little monkey, so blinded by anxiety, she couldn’t see the branch right underneath her butt.
“How’d you get up there?”
Arik slipped, swore, but he had a hold on a branch and was able to climb back down. As Arik descended, Casey’s eyes widened even more. “I climbed,” she said.
“So, what are you waiting for? Climb back down.”
“I can’t!”
“For Chrissake, will you just go get her?” Arik demanded.
Aiden waved him aside. “Why not?” he asked Casey.
“I’m scared.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Is someone else hurt?”
“No…”
“Is someone chasing you?”
“Come get me!”
“Yes or no, Casey—is someone chasing you?”
“No!”
“Then you have no reason to be scared.”
“I’ll fall!”
“Could be,” Aiden allowed. “That’s what happens when you climb trees without knowing how.”
Arik stared at him as if Aiden had lost his mind.
“You can climb down, or you can fall. Your choice.”
“If I fall,” she said, subdued, “will you catch me?”
“Always, baby girl. But you’ll probably hit a few branches on the way down, and I won’t be able to help that.”
Casey wailed.
“You are one fucked up son of a bitch,” Arik said.
“Maybe,” Aiden agreed. “But what do you wanna bet she won’t climb that high again?”
Arik just shook his head.
“There’s a branch right beneath you, Casey. Put your foot on it.”
Aiden talked Casey down from the tree, one branch at a time. And she did it all by herself, without slipping or falling even once. By the time she’d made it to the bottom, she was smiling again, running off to play with her doll by the waterhole. Aiden patted Arik on the shoulder in conciliation, and aimed a smug grin at Desiree as he sat down to his tea.
“Was that your idea of tough love?” Desiree asked.
Arik, having been scared shitless by Casey’s escapades, trailed her in case she got a boo-boo. Casey made him chase her around to keep his vigil. Damn, he loved that kid.
“Casey doesn’t need tough. She needs someone to show her she’s capable of more than she was taught.”
“All you did was make her more likely to go off on her own.”
“And that’s a bad thing because…?”
“She could get hurt!”
“Or she could come back stronger.”
“What if she has another asthma attack while she’s gone?”
Aiden poked the fire with a twig. “Tell you what, when you have kids, you can teach them whatever the hell you want. Make them afraid of their own shadow. Make them so dependent on you, they’ll have no choice but to stay and take care of you. But excuse me if I don’t subscribe to that crock of shit.” He tossed the twig onto the flame. “When my kid gets thrown to the wolves, I want to make damn sure she’s strong enough to come back leading the pack.”
He couldn’t tell if that was scorn or confusion on Desiree’s face, but he did detect a smidgen of reluctant respect. About damned time. Then she had to go and ruin it. “Casey’s not your kid.”
“She is now.” Aiden pushed to his feet. “Case, come on! Time to hit the road!”
Casey ran to the car, slapped her hands onto it. “I win!” she declared.
A winded Arik followed far behind.
“Congratulations, looks like you got second place,” Aiden teased.
“Shut up,” Arik snapped.
Aiden chuckled. “I’ll make you a Fastest Loser trophy later.”
Before they doused the fire, Aiden went to check the waterhole. It’d gone dry. He put on a brave face for the munchkin, but it worried him. A human body could go a week or more without food. Without water, death was pretty much guaranteed after three days; less, if they needed to do any rigorous activity. Like, say, if the car ran out of gas and they had to walk the rest of the way to Montana.
Much as Aiden hated to admit it, Desiree might have had a point about the cities. This area was too unfamiliar for him to guess where they were or where they needed to go. They needed a map and supplies. Not to mention, the drive would be easier over paved roads.
Aiden sighed. At times like these, he really wished he had his brother to watch his back.
43: Desiree
It takes four tries to get the car started again. Not surprising, with a twenty-year-old, unused battery. The next time we shut off the engine might be for good. We drive ever-northward until we find a road, then Aiden takes over the wheel to give Arik a break.
The ride is smoother, faster over asphalt, and the gentle rocking lulls me to sleep.
I dream of running, so hard, so fast, everything blurs around me. I run until I leave it all in the dust—my life, the converts, the wasted world—and when I stop to look around, I’m in a sea of stars and it’s so cold, the air blisters my lungs with each breath, but I don’t care.
Nothing can hurt me now.
~
Desiree woke to total silence, disoriented and still floating on a haze of utter peace. It shattered when her mind finally registered her surroundings. It was nighttime, and had been for who knew how long. They were parked on the side of a road somewhere, the engine off.
“What’s going on?” Her breath misted, and she shivered, hugging herself for warmth.
Aiden was leaning over the steering wheel, staring at the landscape. “There’s a city a few miles ahead,” he said.
Arik rubbed his face, then shook himself off to wake up. “That’s good, right? ‘s what we wanted.”
Aiden didn’t reply.
“You’ve got three people in the car,” Desiree pointed out. “One of them a little girl. If something’s wrong, you need to tell us.”
“Tell me, Dez,” he replied distractedly. “When was the last time something wasn’t wrong?”
Arik squinted into the night. “Do you see something?”
“Nah, not from this far away.”
“Then what is it?”
“Instinct. This is a bad place to be.”
“So we go around,” Desiree said. “Simple.”
Aiden breathed in deeply, and on his gusty exhale, said, “Yeah, it would be. Except, we’re out of gas.”
Arik swore.
Casey lay scrunched up sideways in her seat, half-choked by the seatbelt Aiden had insisted she wear, and fast asleep. How nice it had to be not to have a single care in the world, because a whole carful of people were watching out for her.
“So what do we do?”
“We? We don’t do anything,” Aiden said. “You three stay here. I’m going to go check it out.”
Arik shook his head. “No way, man. That’s suicide.”
“For you, maybe. I do this shit for a living.”
Aiden got out, woke Casey, and explained his plan to all of them. “I want all of you armed. You don’t take a step without a gun in your hand. You don’t put it down for any reason. Stay in the car; it’s good cover. No fires, no cooking, no running around without supervision.” He said the last to Desiree. “Casey,” he added, “I want you to keep an eye on this one, make sure she doesn’t wander away, okay?”
“‘Kay.”
“I’m counting on you.”
She frowned to make a stern face and, in as deep a voice as she could manage, said, “I can do it.”
Aiden ruffled her hair. “Good girl.”
“How long will you be gone?” Desiree watched him root through the weapons to choose his favorite ones. No holsters— he stuck the handguns into his waistband and pockets. The shotgun and the machete he kept in hand.
“Depends on how far I have to go to get what we need. If I’m not back by noon, wait a few hours longer. I’ll make it back eventually.”
“I should go with you,” Arik said. “I can help. You’ll need backup.”
“That’s why you’re staying here. I don’t need you watching my back. I need you watching theirs.”
“Still—”
“I’m sorry, did I give you the impression this is up for discussion? Stay here. Keep them safe. That’s your job.” Aiden propped the shotgun onto his shoulder and loped away into the night.
Arik and Desiree shared a look. It wasn’t pleasant, from either side. Arik seemed mighty eager to take off, which made sense. Nothing here for him except two dependants and an enemy. Desiree was surprised he hadn’t split sooner. But then it wouldn’t make sense to leave without provisions. He’d probably wait until Aiden came back, then take his share and leave. Good to know.
Casey scooted closer to Desiree for warmth. “I’m hungry.”
“We all are. Hopefully Aiden will bring back something to eat.”
“Is there any meat left?”
“Nope,” Arik answered. “We ate the last of it for dinner.”
“How ‘bout water? I’m thirsty, too.”
Oh, this would be fun. “No water either,” Desiree said.
“Then what do we have?”
“Maybe we should play the quiet game,” Desiree suggested.
“I don’t wanna play the quiet game.”
“Then just close your eyes and sleep. I’ll wake you when Aiden comes back.”
“You just want me to shut up, just like everyone else. I have things to say, you know!”
“None that I wanna hear,” Desiree muttered. Was the girl going hormonal or something?
Casey punched her in the thigh, right in the stitches. “I hate you!”
Desiree hissed and shoved her away.
Arik shook his head, then wandered behind the jeep to perch on the back.
Hot pain throbbed in Desiree’s thigh. She gritted her teeth, breathing through it. The cut was freshly stitched, but it shouldn’t be hurting this much.
“I wish you were dead!” Casey hit her again, and Desiree snapped.
She caught the girl’s hand, mid-swing. Casey screamed and fought, making a ruckus like someone was killing her. “Shut up!” Desiree said, and slapped her hard across the cheek.
Casey stopped, her mouth rounded in a shocked O.
“Now you listen here, you little shit. I’ve had it with your antics. You’d better wise up, right now, or I swear the next time I really will leave you to choke.”
Casey stared, cupping her cheek. “You hit me,” she said.
“You do not talk back to your elders—ever,” Desiree said. “You do not disobey, or disrespect people who are putting their lives on the line to save yours, and you most definitely do not hit people who are taking care of you!” She’d aimed right where it’d hurt the most, too. “You think I’ll let you get away with it, just because you’re a kid?”
Tears welled, and Casey’s chin wobbled.
“Aiden was right,” Desiree went on. “You are old enough. You should know better by now.” And she did. Desiree knew what Casey’s parents, and everyone else in Haven, had taught her by example. Pick on the cripple. She can’t fight back, anyway. Well, they were all dead, so who had the last laugh now?
“Arik?” Casey wailed.
“Don’t look at me, kid. She’s right.”
Casey turned sullen and shifted around to give Desiree her back. At least she was quiet now.
Tired, and in pain, Desiree waited for the sun to rise. She needed light to check her stitches. It worried her how much the cut still ached, long after Casey’s hit. Please don’t let it be infected. Please.
When the sky lightened some hours later, Desiree steeled herself, untying the knot she’d made at the bottom of her right pant leg. She felt covered in a layer of dirt and filth. Not the way a wound should be treated. Desiree held her breath, rolled up the garment, and unwrapped the bandage. When the last of it peeled away, she bit back a moan. The wound was swollen and red, moist across the seam, and tender all around.
The beginnings of an infection that would likely turn very bad, very soon.
With a shaky hand, she tugged open the pack at her feet, and pulled out the small jar she’d repurposed yesterday. Knowing this might have been a possibility, she’d saved their tea’s soggy chamomile flowers, wet enough to use as a dressing. Hopefully they still held some anti-inflammatory properties. Desiree shifted her stump to protrude over the edge of her seat and poured more alcohol over the wound, bracing against the searing pain. Then she piled the flowers on in an even layer and re-wrapped the bandage.
By the time she’d finished, she was lightheaded and shivering.
“Dez?” Casey said softly.
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Desiree sniffled, and wiped her face dry. “We’re in this together. R
ight?”
“Uh-huh.”
She straightened in her seat, and faced the girl. “We need to help each other, not hurt each other. Right?”
Casey nodded.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
The car jerked as Arik shot to his feet. “We’ve got incoming!”
Desiree twisted to look out the back window. Arik stood on the jeep, obscuring her view. “What’s going on?” she asked.
He cursed and dived for the boxes of weapons, pulling them out one by one. “Converts,” he said. “Lots of them.” When he ducked down, Desiree gasped.
A sizable group was coming up the fractured road. Still a good distance away, but there was no question where they were headed, or why. Desiree couldn’t count them all; they weaved back and forth tightly together, like a dizzy military formation marching forward.
These converts weren’t native to the town Aiden had left to recon. Looked like they’d followed the car from Haven.
As they neared, Desiree recognized their massive leader front and center, towering over the rest. His unmistakable voice sent shivers up her spine, made her hands so numb, the gun she’d palmed clattered to the seat.
Casey pressed it back into Desiree’s hand, clutching her knife to her chest.
Arik fired the first shot, and Desiree flinched, meeting eyes with Casey.
The converts screamed. He must have hit his mark. Now there’d be no stopping them.
Desiree took cover between the seats as Arik opened fire, burning through ammo in a hurry to take down as many as he could.
Casey sobbed, scared, but with a hard determination in her eyes, like she’d jump out of the car and charge them, head on.
Desiree shook her head. “No,” she said, frantically looking around for a place to hide her. Nothing in the car, but a few yards ahead stood a tall tree with thick limbs and a crown full of leaves. Desiree shoved Casey out. “Go,” she ordered. “Get up that tree. Now!”
“But what about you?”
“Now, Casey. Run!”
The girl fled, and Desiree waited to make sure she could get up there, then got out of the jeep and positioned herself so she could lean on it for balance. Then she fired.
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